James Leo Herlihy
James Leo Herlihy (February 27, 1927 - October 21, 1993) was an American novelist, playwright and actor. Life Herlihy was born into a working-class family in Detroit, Michigan. He was raised in Detroit and Chillicothe, Ohio. He enlisted with the Navy in 1945 but saw no action due to the end of World War II. He attended Black Mountain College in North Carolina for two years, where he studied sculpture. He then moved to southern California and attended the Pasadena Playhouse College of the Theatre. He was gay and a close friend of playwright Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), another trailblazing gay writer who wrote about taboo subjects. Williams served as a mentor to Herlihy, the younger writer. Both spent a significant amount of time in Key West, Florida. Like Williams, Herlihy had lived in New York City. Apart from Key West, the primary home of Herlihy was in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. He directed actress Tallulah Bankhead in a touring production of his play Crazy October in 1959. Herlihy appeared as a guest star in "All The Lovely Pagliaccis," a 1962 episode of the TV series Route 66. He acted in the movie In the French Style (1963) with Jean Seberg. Herlihy also acted in Edward Albee's play The Zoo Story in 1963 in Boston and Paris, and in the 1981 film Four Friends directed by Arthur Penn. In 1968, Herlihy signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments as a protest against the Vietnam War."Writers and Editors War Tax Protest", January 30, 1968 New York Post Herlihy committed suicide at the age of 66, by taking an overdose of sleeping pills in Los Angeles. Writing Plays he wrote include Streetlight Sonata (1950), Moon in Capricorn (1953), and Blue Denim (produced on Broadway in 1958). According to author Sean Egan in his biography of James Kirkwood, Jr., Ponies & Rainbows, Herlihy co-wrote the play UTBU with Kirkwood but demanded his name be taken off the credits.Egan, Sean (2011) “Ponies & Rainbows: The Life of James Kirkwood" Bearmanor Media, , page 204 Herihy wrote 3 novels: All Fall Down (1960), Midnight Cowboy (1965), and The Season of the Witch (1971). His short stories were collected in The Sleep of Baby Filbertson, and other stories (1959) and A Story That Ends in a Scream, and eight others (1967), a collection which also included plays. Recognition Herlihy is known for his novels Midnight Cowboy and All Fall Down, and his play Blue Denim, all of which were adapted for cinema. Other publications include The Season of the Witch and several short stories. 3 of his 1-act plays, titled collectively Stop You're Killing Me, were presented by the Theater Company of Boston in 1969. Publications Plays *''Streetlight Sonata'' (1950) *''Moon in Capricorn'' (1953) *''Blue Denim'' (1958) *''Crazy October'' (1959) *''Stop, You’re Killing Me: Three Short Plays'' (1969) Novels *''All Fall Down'' (1960) *''Midnight Cowboy'' (1965) *''The Season of the Witch'' (1971) Short fiction *''The Sleep of Baby Filbertson and Other Stories'' (1958) *''A Story That Ends with a Scream and Eight Others'' (1967) See also *List of English-language playwrights References External links ;About * * Category:20th-century American novelists Category:American male novelists Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American short story writers Category:American tax resisters Category:LGBT writers from the United States Category:Drug-related suicides in California Category:Writers from Detroit, Michigan Category:Writers who committed suicide Category:1927 births Category:1993 deaths Category:LGBT dramatists and playwrights Category:LGBT people from Michigan Category:LGBT novelists Category:Male short story writers Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Category:Writers from Detroit Category:American male short story writers Category:American male dramatists and playwrights Category:American dramatists and playwrights Category:Male suicides Category:20th-century American short story writers